Richard Wilkins (Buffyverse)
Richard Wilkins III (commonly referred to as The Mayor) is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Portrayed by Harry Groener, he is the mayor of Sunnydale, a fictional town rife with vampires and demons in which the main character, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) lives. The premise of the series is that Buffy is a Slayer, a young girl endowed with superhuman powers to fight evil, which she accomplishes with the help of a small group of friends and family, called the Scooby Gang. During the show's second season, it becomes apparent that local authorities are aware of the endemic evil in the town, and either ignore it or are complicit in making it worse. The third season reveals that the Mayor is behind this conspiracy to hide and worsen Sunnydale's supernatural phenomena, as part of his century-long plot to take over the world, making him the season's primary villain, or Big Bad. His genial demeanor, promotion of family values, casual phobia of germs, and dislike of swearing belie his evil nature. The series regularly employs monsters and elements of horror to symbolize real problems,Wilcox, p. 18. and the abuse of power in relation to the forces of darkness is a repeated theme throughout the series, as well as in its spin-off Angel.South, p. 66. This season also marks Buffy's and her friends' last year in high school, and introduces a long-running character named Faith (Eliza Dushku), who is also a Slayer. After many months of fighting alongside Buffy and being under the authority of Buffy's Watcher, Giles, Faith becomes estranged from Buffy and aligns herself with the Mayor, who both employs her as an assassin and becomes a father figure to her while preparing to become a powerful demon that will destroy the town. Creation and casting In planning for the third season, series creator Joss Whedon and the team of writers for the show sought to explore the issues of the abuse of power, and the choices people in or with power make.Whedon, Joss (2008). Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Third Season; "Interview with Joss Whedon 'Bad Girls' and 'Consequences'" Featurette. DVD. 20th Century Fox. Veteran stage actor Harry Groener was cast in the role of the Mayor of Sunnydale, the embodiment of a quintessential American politician. In the second season, it becomes clear that the authorities at Sunnydale High School — under which a portal to hell called a Hellmouth is situated — are aware of the perpetual influence of evil at the school and have been reporting events to the Mayor's office.Kaveny, p. 22–23. While there are scenes in season two which indicate that the Mayor is a fear-inspiring figure, he is not seen until the third season. Series writer Jane Espenson credited Groener's performance and his chemistry with co-star Eliza Dushku with propelling his character to greater importance and making their relationship a central focus of the season.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Third Season; "Third Season Overview" Featurette (2008). DVD. 20th Century Fox. The writers created the blue collar Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) as an anti-Buffy: a young woman given extraordinary physical powers with no moral foundation. Whereas Buffy has had a stable family life up until her parents' divorce two years earlier, Faith does not know her father, and it is revealed that her mother was an alcoholic who beat Faith, before her death. She has been surviving on her own since her original Watcher, someone who teaches her about the demons and monsters she will face, was tortured and killed shortly before Faith's arrival in Sunnydale.Holder, et al, pp. 86–88. Groener loved the part and was impressed with the writing. As a stage actor used to having rehearsal time to prepare for a role, he found himself often with little time for rehearsal in the environment of television production; actors sometimes get their lines the night before and must memorize them, then spend time on set learning how to block shots for cameras. Consequently, Groener said he did not have much time to rehearse and prepare for the role of the Mayor. He was surprised to see how involved Joss Whedon was in preparing scripts: sometimes Whedon would rewrite lines on set. Groener said, "Poor Joss. Here is a man who I think never sleeps. He never, ever sleeps and of course he was writing and directing the last two episodes, and there were times when we would simply get a synopsis the night before...and while they're setting everything up and getting everything ready to shoot the next scene, Joss is over in a corner writing the scene that's going to happen after that. It can be kind of nuts! But it all gets done. That's the magic of it."Holder, et al, pp. 299–305. Biography Background Wilkins arrived in California in the 1800s. He went on to found the town of Sunnydale, California in 1841''Buffy the Animated Series'' pilot on the location of Boca del Infierno after the last Slayer, Naayéé’neizgháni, died there. Wilkins found the Hellmouth infested with demons, with whom he made a pact to avoid being killed himself. He agreed to found a town on the Hellmouth where demons could freely feed on the inhabitants of the town. In his deals with demons (including Lurconis), he sold his soul and gained immortality. In 1899, he began planning his Ascension into the form of an Old One called Olvikan that would take place in one hundred years. Wilkins married Edna May in 1903. In time, she grew senile and cursed him for his youth until she finally died of old age. It was not a happy time for the couple and Wilkins learned from experience what an immortal’s relationship with a mortal would become."Choices" Richard Wilkins III also happened to be Richard Wilkins Senior and Junior. He pretended to be his own son in each subsequent generation, in order to conceal his immortality. Preparing for the Ascension Filling the power vacuum left by the absence of Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla, Wilkins quickly assumed control and leadership over Sunnydale’s vampire population. In the coming months to the ascension, Wilkins worked to ensure his transformation into an Old One would run smoothly and free from interference. This involved using the principal of Sunnydale High School, Snyder, keep the Slayer Buffy Summers out of school (which proved unsuccessful)"Dead Man's Party" and hiring the vampire Mr. Trick to help organize some of his supernatural dealings, such the ritual offering of Lurconis that was thwarted by Buffy when she killed the demon."Band Candy" Wilkins also kept tabs on Spike’s various "shenanigans" the previous year and when it was discovered that he had returned to Sunnydale, Wilkins had Trick arrange a "welcoming committee" consisting of Spike’s former lackeys to keep him from messing in his plans. Again, this "welcoming committee" was thwarted by the Slayer."Lovers Walk" Two day before the Dedication commencing the 100 days of invulnerability before the Mayor’s ascension, Wilkin’s old rival Balthazar arrived in Sunnydale along with his vampire army of El Eliminati in search of his amulet that would restore his power so that he could have his revenge on Wilkins who crippled him many years ago. Mr. Trick presented the Mayor with evidence that Balthazar’s minions had come to town, but the Mayor decided to just keep an eye on them in hopes that the vampires and the Slayers — Buffy and Faith Lehane — would kill themselves off. He was attacked by one of Bathazar’s minions who managed to intercept his office, and then used the minion to test his immortality following the Dedication."Bad Girls" During this, the Mayor’s deputy Allan Finch betrayed him by leaving a paper trail of the Mayor’s dealings (which the Mayor subsequently shredded) and going to fill in the Slayers behind his back. However, Faith accidentally killed him in the crossfire and dumped the body. The Mayor initially saw this as beneficial because it meant one of the Slayers would end up in prison and out of his hair, but he soon realized that the Slayers were onto him when he discovered them sneaking into town hall on the building’s security camera. Because he lacked sufficient evidence to lock them away, Wilkins ordered Mr. Trick to assassinate the Slayers. To the Mayor’s surprise, Faith killed Trick along with his henchmen in the attack before visiting the Mayor himself and agreeing to work for him in Trick’s place."Consequences" Working with Faith Faith and the Mayor quickly got along swimmingly and he even bought her a full-sized, fully furnished apartment complete with a PlayStation, because he did not like to see her stay at a place with an "unsavory reputation". In the meantime, the Scooby Gang was trying to find out all they could about the Mayor. Because Faith was still working alongside them (despite the fact they were fully aware of what she did), Faith told Wilkins that Willow Rosenberg was going through his personal files and he ordered her to be killed (which was averted when the henchmen he sent mistook her vampire counterpart for her, and she beat them into submission)."Doppelgangland" The Mayor and Faith formed something of a father-daughter relationship. Wilkins treated her like a young woman rather than a cold-blooded killer, while at the same time fostering her descent into evil by assigning her deadly missions and rewarding her with an expensive knife for her services. The Mayor’s assignments for Faith in preparation for his ascension include killing the demon Skyler, who offered the Slayers the Books of Ascension for a price and taking the books to prevent the Scooby Gang from learning more;"Enemies" picking up the Box of Gavrok and murdering the courier, so they got it free of charge; and murdering Lester Worth, a volcanologist who discovered the fossil remains of the same Old One the Mayor had aspired to ascend to."Graduation Day, Part One" The Mayor also attempted to have Angel lose his soul and become evil in hopes that he would get Buffy out the way and be another asset to the Mayor that would be at his side during the ascension. He initially got Faith to try to seduce him, but failed due to Angel’s ability to refrain from intimacy and his devotion to Buffy. Wilkins then employed a demonic shaman to remove Angel’s soul magically. The Mayor then had the seemingly-desouled Angelus team up with Faith to capture and torture Buffy (but not kill her as it would lead to a replacement Slayer). However, it turned out that the loss of Angel’s soul was actually a ploy set by the Scooby Gang to trick Faith into revealing that the ascension would occur during this year’s Graduation Day at Sunnydale High, with even shaman Wilkins hired being in on the plot. This event revealed Faith’s true allegiance to everyone, fully isolating herself from the gang and bringing her closer to the Mayor. The Ascension It later turned out that the ascension would occur during the graduation ceremony because the Mayor himself would attend the event as a guest speaker. In order to distract Buffy the day before the event, the Mayor had Faith shoot Angel with an arrow tipped with Killer of the Dead, a poison that slowly kills vampires in a slow and excruciating way. Buffy learned that the blood of the Slayer was the only thing that could cure Angel and fought Faith almost to the death using her own knife. Faith survived, but was put into a coma due to her severe injuries. Wilkins was so distraught by Faith’s predicament and displeased that she wouldn’t be alongside him come the time of his ascension, so he attempted to smother Buffy to death with his bare hands in her hospital bed after she was taken to the same hospital for letting Angel drink her own blood because Faith’s was unavailable. Wilkins then achieved his ascension into the gigantic demon known as Olvikan during the graduation ceremony (slightly earlier than expected, to his annoyance, since he had not finished his speech) and planned on devouring all the graduating students. However, Buffy and her friends managed to get every one of the graduates to fight back against Wilkins and his vampire lackeys. The Mayor resisted their attempts and killed many people there, like Principal Snyder and several students (such as Larry Blaisdell). Buffy exploited his love for Faith by taunting him with the knife he had given to Faith and with which Buffy put her in a coma. That, combined with calling him a "dick", caused the Mayor to charge at her angrily. Buffy lured Wilkins into the empty library, now filled with bags of dynamite, a trap also planned by the class. Rupert Giles pressed the trigger that obliterated the Mayor and the school building. Staying true to his distaste for foul language, Wilkins’ last words are "Well, gosh.""Graduation Day, Part Two" Legacy Immediately after Faith fell into a coma, Wilkins knew that she would eventually wake up, despite the doctors telling him otherwise. Accepting the possibility that his plan would fail, Wilkins filmed a message to Faith on videotape for her to receive when she came out of her coma (given to her in an envelope by a demon courier). Wilkins knew that Faith wouldn’t last in this world without him so he left her a Draconian Katra, a magical trinket he got over the years. The device would allow Faith to switch bodies with someone else and, as payback for being “moving on” and overall jealousy towards Buffy’s life, she switched with her. However, her ruse was discovered and Buffy managed to swap back. With nobody to lean on, Faith fled Sunnydale for Los Angeles."This Year's Girl" When Buffy, Willow, Alexander Harris, and Spike visited the ruins of the high school to prevent the Hellmouth from opening, the Mayor’s burnt remains were founded scattered all over the dilapidated halls. Xander stepped on his corpse and remarked: “Mayor meat, extra crispy.”"Doomed" The First Evil used his likeness on occasion, especially with Faith."Lessons""Touched" Return During the Reckoning, Wilkins returned once again as a threat to the Scooby Gang. He revealed to have survived his apparent death during the Graduation Day battle thanks to his Old One constitution, spending years pulling himself back together.One Year Later During the decisive battle of the Reckoning, he was eventually killed for a second time, betrayed by Harth Fray, who beheaded him to preserve the power just to himself.Finale Powers and abilities Before transforming into a demon, Wilkins was a powerful sorcerer who specialized in the dark arts. He had a cabinet full of shrunken heads, bones and supernatural paraphernalia. He became immortal and gained eternal youth thanks to demonic benefactors. After performing the Dedication, he could not be harmed in any way for 100 days until the Ascension, and was able to heal from massive injuries immediately. As the embodiment of the demon Olvikan, he possessed inhuman strength, endurance, and size, endowed with a thick, bone-armored hide, sharp teeth and mandibles, and a spiked tail-club. Additionally, Wilkins possessed great political power. After the departure of the Order of Aurelius, and their successors, Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla, he filled the power vacuum left behind, allowing him to assume control of the majority of Sunnydale’s vampire population. Personality Wilkins had quite a pleasant demeanor. A polite man with an aversion to swearing and bawdy humor, he nearly always wore a smile on his face. He called himself a “family man”, though he claimed that he never had any children''No Future for You, Part Four'' and his wife, Edna Mae, died resenting him for his youth. He loved The Family Circus, Toll House cookies, and miniature golf, but he disliked Marmaduke, who seemed unsanitary to him. Despite his status as a demon, he was quite friendly. He managed to develop a close father-daughter relationship with Faith (despite attempting to send her to prison and killing her at first) and was genuinely distraught when she went into a coma. One of Wilkins’ most notable traits was his obsessive hygiene. However, it was this same parental love for Faith that allowed his darker side to show. When Buffy managed to critically hurt her, Wilkins, in a fit of grief and rage, almost smothered Buffy to death in the hospital (until Angel stopped him). He tells Angel that “misery loves company” and then refers to Buffy as Angel’s “whore” (which was a break in his normally clean language that showed the depth of his distress). Buffy was able to bait Wilkins after his Ascension into following her by taunting him with the custom knife he had given to Faith as a present, which Buffy had taken and which was still smeared with Faith’s blood, exploiting the remnants of his humanity. It should also be noted that, despite early signs of bad decision making, Faith’s full transition into Buffy’s enemy was aided by the Mayor, who freely pushed her to embrace being “the dark Slayer”. Combined with gifts such as her own apartment, a custom knife and poison, Faith saw no apparent downsides to being evil, and only much later realized how manipulated she had been by Wilkins. Wilkins displays the flag of the United States on the viewer’s right. This is incorrect; the flag is supposed to be displayed on “its own right”, which is to say the viewer’s left. Gallery B3 Wilkins 04.jpg B3 Wilkins 05.jpg B3 Wilkins 02.jpg B3 Wilkins 03.jpg Choices Wilkins Willow Faith.jpg S3stills036.jpg.jpg Choices Wilkins Faith.jpg Choices Wilkins Snyder Faith.jpg Touched First Evil Wilkins.jpg|Impersonated by the First S7stills073.jpg|Impersonated by the First S7stills075.jpg|Impersonated by the First S7stills076.jpg|Impersonated by the First Behind the scenes *He was portrayed by Harry Groener, and Chris Mezzolestaref in Season Eight Motion Comic. *In a deleted scene of the series premiere of Firefly, it is learned that the Alliance troops who advanced on the Independents in Serenity Valley were led by General Richard Wilkins. The characters are not related, as Firefly is not part of Whedon’s Buffyverse. Appearances Canon ;Buffy the Vampire Slayer ;Tales *''The Glittering World'' ;Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight *''No Future for You, Part Four'' *''After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back!'' ;Angel & Faith *''Daddy Issues, Part Three'' *''Daddy Issues, Part Four'' ;"Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve" *''One Year Later'' *''Future Shock'' *''The Reckoning'' *''Finale'' Other ;Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic *''Haunted (Prologue)'' *''Haunted, Part One'' *''Haunted, Part Two'' *''Haunted, Part Three'' *''Haunted, Part Four'' *''Note from the Underground, Part Four'' *''A Stake to the Heart, Part One'' *''A Stake to the Heart, Part Four'' ;Graphic novels *"New School Nightmare" ;Novels *"How I Survived My Summer Vacation" *"The Willow Files, Volume 2" *"The Faith Trials" *"The Cordelia Collection" *"The Suicide King" *"Colony" *"One Thing or Your Mother" }} References Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters Category:Buffyverse characters who use magic Category:Buffyverse demons Category:Male characters in television Category:Fictional mayors Category:Fictional mass murderers Category:Fictional snakes Category:Fictional avatars Category:Fictional immortals Category:Fictional centenarians Category:Fictional characters from Los Angeles County Category:Fictional characters who have made pacts with devils Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1998